Putin has unleashed private armies on Ukraine – and a man who could become a dangerous rival | Samantha de Bendern

Is Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the notorious Wagner group, a Kremlin-sanctioned bogeyman or a real threat to the president?

The rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch, Putin confidant and head of the notorious Wagner private military company, is a sign of the erosion of the rule of law in Russia. It shows that the state is willing to tolerate extreme, unaccountable violence as long as it serves its interests. This could ultimately become a threat to the regime itself.

Prigozhin is a private citizen who was previously a restaurant magnate - known as Putin's chef" due to the president's patronage of his restaurants and catering firms. But at some point in 2014, he co-founded the Wagner Group along with former Russian military personnel, and has since become a major player in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Samantha de Bendern is an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and a political commentator on LCI television in France